Oglethorpe is among colleges nationwide with the lowest average student loan debt per borrower for the Class of 2017.

LendEDU, a marketplace for student loans and student loan refinance, ranks Oglethorpe University as the 199th best private college nationwide for the lowest student loan debt per borrower out of more than 1,110 college and universities analyzed. 

“Oglethorpe is doing a great job at helping students afford their education and attend college with as little debt as possible,” said Mike Brown, spokesman at LendEDU.

The average Class of 2017 private university graduate has approximately $31,665 in student loan debt. With an average of $28,495 per borrower, Oglethorpe is well below the national average.

Of the 250 colleges with the highest amount of student loan debt per borrower, 81.6% of the institutions were private.

Oglethorpe not only ranks well nationally, but also demonstrates impressive value in Georgia, in comparison to both private universities and public institutions. Among the Georgia schools evaluated, Oglethorpe came in on par with the average in the state, where the loan debt per borrower is $28,376. OU graduates have lower debt than those from Georgia State University, Agnes Scott College, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of West Georgia, SCAD and others. Compare the average student loan debt for 2017 graduates of Oglethorpe, a private university, to the public Georgia State University and you’ll see Oglethorpe’s average is more than $2,000 lower.

LendEDU’s Student Loan Debt By School By State Report was created using the newest licensed Peterson’s financial aid data. Peterson’s released the fresh data for the Class of 2017 at the start of August 2018. LendEDU is the first organization to aggregate and analyze this data for the Class of 2017. In the report, the nation’s colleges and universities are ranked to see which schools are giving graduates the most, and the least, amount of student loan debt.

Here’s how Oglethorpe offers a great education at a great value:

• Starting in fall 2019, Oglethorpe will match in-state tuition at flagship institutions in all 50 states for qualified students
• 97% of students receive aid
• >90% receive need-based financial aid
• $24,000,000 + Oglethorpe aid awarded annually
• > 90% receive OU merit scholarships
• Competitive full-tuition scholarships awarded annually for academic merit, civic engagement, theatre, and business
• Oglethorpe matches HOPE scholarships
• Oglethorpe offers out-of-state HOPE equivalents
• Additional financial aid is available